Alert

Education

Last Updated : 10/22/2018

FORT BLISS EditorMARCOA Media

Public School

The El Paso area has a variety of educational opportunities to address the needs of military families arriving at Fort Bliss. These opportunities are provided by nine public school districts in the El Paso area. An established relationship between Fort Bliss and area school districts exists through formal venues. All nine El Paso School Districts in the El Paso area entered into the Secondary Education Transition Study (SETS) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in 2001. Fort Bliss has added support to an additional school district, Gadsden ISD in the New Mexico area, due to continued increase in the number of Military families choosing to reside in New Mexico.

Opportunity to attend various schools is dependent upon home address, where you reside will designate what school your child will attend. Opportunities to attend other schools-districts exist for Military families based on space availability.

Geographically the Fort Bliss Military Post is within the El Paso ISD School boundaries with one high school and four elementary schools located on federal property.

There are two active Home School organizations supporting area families choosing this option

Child Youth and School Services (CYSS) facilities are conveniently located across from several elementary schools on Post. Transportation to and from designated off Post schools is provided by CYSS to their facilities. Please contact Parent Central Services at (915) 568-4374 to register your child and determine if this service is provided at your school.

Busing

All districts make school bus transportation available to all students living two or more miles from the home school, students living on a Board approve hazardous route, for eligible special education students as approved by an ARD committee, and those attending special programs such as an Early College High School or magnet programs. This service is provided at no cost to students. Bus routes and any subsequent changes are reported at the school. Further information may be obtained by calling the district campus principal or designee. When a pupil transfer request is approved, the parent is responsible for the student's transportation.

Discipline

All school Districts in the El Paso and New Mexico area have a discipline management plan. All students and parents are given a code of conduct at the beginning of each school year.

Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness

Beginning in spring 2012, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAARTM) will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). The STAAR program at grades 3-8 will assess the same subjects and grades that are currently assessed on TAKS. At high school, however, grade-specific assessments will be replaced with 12 end-of-course (EOC) assessments: Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, biology, chemistry, physics, English I, English II, English III, world geography, world history, and U.S. history.

For more information please access Texas Education Agency TEA Update on the STAAR Program November 2011

Private Schools

El Paso is home to a number of parochial, private and charter schools providing educational services at all grade levels PreK-12. There are several different types of private schools from which to choose. Parochial, non-denominational and independent schools are increasing in numbers in the El Paso area. To learn more about the private schools in the El Paso area please contact the Fort Bliss school liaison at (915)-569-5064.

Local Schools

How do I choose a school?

Choosing the right school for children is a priority for military families. Whether you are assigned living quarters or have a choice of where to live, it is important to explore all educational options to discover the proper match for each child. All parents want the best possible education for their children. Students have different learning styles and needs. Children within the same family may not learn in the same way or at the same rate. Finding the right educational setting for each child requires a careful examination of various options that are available to students and their families.

"Choosing a School for your Child", a publication of the U.S. Department of Education offers a series of checklists and pertinent questions to assist parents in making the right choices.

Schools in the area

Several high quality commercial tools are available to assist in making decisions about which school to choose for your child.

GreatSchools offers listings of 200,000 public and private schools serving students from preschool through high school and more than 800,000 parent ratings and reviews. GreatSchools also has a new program called College Bound, an online approach to helping parents raise college-ready high school graduates.

Designed for military students, their families and the caring professionals who support them, SchoolQuest is an educational resource tool from the Military Child Education Coalition. It is meant to facilitate the search for new schools and centralize resources.

It's also a secure storage site for students' educational, extra-curricular, award, volunteer and work information. Please note, though, that is NOT a replacement for a school transcript. It can be viewed as a safe, centralized virtual "file drawer" where a student (or parent) can keep track of all the details that are so difficult to organize, but so necessary when students move or apply for college, jobs or military service.

In addition, SchoolQuest guests are granted access to research and time-tested information about successful educational transitions.

Military OneSource is a free service provided by the Department of Defense to service members and their families to help with a broad range of concerns including money management, spouse employment and education, parenting and child care, relocation, deployment, reunion, and the particular concerns of families with special-needs members.

Transition success

Parents often want to know about the availability of extracurricular activities and sports, or the availability of advanced classes. For these questions, it is best to contact the schools directly. It is important to ask the right questions. The following resources can help with these questions and others.